Outbreak of Shigella sonnei infection in Norway linked to consumption of fresh basil, October 2011

Abstract

We report a Shigella sonnei outbreak of 46 cases that occurred in Norway during October 2011. Two municipalities were involved. A large cluster (42 cases) was concentrated in north Norway, while a small cluster (4 cases) occurred in the south-east region. Epidemiological evidence and traceback investigations have linked the outbreak to the consumption of imported fresh basil. The product has been withdrawn from the market. No further cases have been reported since 25 October.

Microbiological hazards associated with the use of water in the post‐harvest handling and processing operations of fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and herbs (ffFVHs). Part 1 (outbreak data analysis, literature review and stakeholder questionnaire)

“…Contaminated imported raw produce (from outside EU/EEA) were mentioned as a probable cause in European outbreaks related to norovirus and berries (Mäde et al., 2013; Müller et al., 2015; Einöder‐Moreno et al., 2016), Shigella spp. and fresh herbs; basil (Guzman‐Herrador et al., 2011), curry leaves (Waldram et al., 2018) and mint (Appendix D) and Salmonella spp. and curry leaves (Waldram et al., 2018) and melons (ECDC and EFSA, 2021).…”

Fish, Tilapia, and Shigellosis: A review

“…For Shigella spp., various methods have been developed using virulence regions or factors for its detection, such as: the ial region (invasion associated locus) present in the invasion plasmid, whose product is 320 bp and is encoded in the SSTT spa´s maximum operon (essential in the invasive phenotype) (Barrantes and Achi, 2011), Shiga toxin gene (Stx) (Ishrat et al, 1996;Villacrés et al, 2015), enterotoxin 1 (ShET-1), encoded protein in the bacterial chromosome by genes set1A (subunit A of the protein) of 309 bp and set1B (subunit B of the protein) of 147 bp (Villacres et al, 2015), insertion sequence 1 (IS1) 768-bp DNA fragment (Wen-Bin et al, 2007), 215 bp virA gene (Villalobo and Torres, 1998;Alipour et al, 2012), icsA gene encodes the IcsA protein, for intercellular mobility and dispersion (Alipour et al, 2012), and plasmid invasion antigen -H‖ or ipaH gene of 610 bp specific for Shigella spp., being determined as a stable gene to be detected because it is found in the chromosome and in plasmid DNA in multiple copies (Pichel and Caffer, 2016;Wang et al, 1997;Thiem et al, 2004;Lampel, 2009;Barrantes and Achi, 2011;Mokhtari et al, 2013;Radhika et al, 2014;Lin et al, 2010;Ranjbar et al 2014;Villacrés et al, 2015;Nadella et al, 2017). Likewise, molecular subtyping methods such as Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA) have been incorporated to determine the genetic relationships between isolates of Shigella spp., which contribute to epidemiological surveillance aspects, identification, and study of outbreaks caused in different geographical regions by the pathogen (Garitano et al, 2011;Pichel et al, 2012;Guzman-Herrador et al, 2011;Pichel and Caffer, 2016;Bakhshi et al, 2017). Another alternative method in the identification of isolates of food pathogens such as Shigella are those based on the analysis of proteins (mainly 2-20 KDa ribosomes) expressed by the genome through mass spectrometry, where a spectrum of specific masses, the -Footprint‖, for each genus and species by using Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization -Time Of Flight -Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF ...…”

A Brief History of Shigella

“…As for the impact of international trade with products contaminated with Shigella, Norway had two outbreaks due to imported snow peas (58) and fresh basil in 2011 (59).…”